Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has accepted a $2.5 million gift from the board of directors of the International Center for the Integration of Health and Spirituality (ICIHS) for the creation of the David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality at the Library's John W. Kluge Center.
This fellowship honors the late David B. Larson, M.D., M.S.P.H., former president and founder of ICIHS, an epidemiologist and psychiatrist, who focused on potentially relevant but understudied factors that might help in prevention, coping or recovering from illness.
In announcing the gift, Billington said, "We are pleased to be able to support innovative research in a field of growing significance in cultures worldwide."
The recipient of the David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality will continue in Larson's tradition of working on cutting-edge initiatives.
The fellowship is designed to encourage gifted professionals from medical, religious, social science and humanistic disciplines to pursue the challenge of serious scientific research in this emerging field of study. Interdisciplinary or cross-cultural proposals are welcomed. Concentrated study will focus on aspects of the interactions between health and spirituality using the vast resources of the Library of Congress along with access to the National Library of Medicine.
The endowment of the David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality can be augmented by other contributions to honor Larson's memory and to enhance the fellowship's effectiveness. To become a donor, or for more information about the fellowship or any of the Kluge Center's fellowships or programs, contact the Office of Scholarly Programs, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4860; telephone (202) 707- 3302; fax (202) 707-3595; e-mail at scholarly@loc.gov.
Application guidelines for the David B. Larson Fellowship in Health and Spirituality are available on the Kluge Center Web site, www.loc.gov/kluge.